The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) set a new record for placing more than 46,000 homeless in permanent homes in 2023, according to a report.
The VA placed a total of 46,552 veterans in permanent housing last year. This exceeded the department's goal of housing 38,000 homeless veterans in 2023 by at least 23%, as reported by Military.com.
In addition to housing veterans, the VA said they were able to make sure that 96% of individuals who were housed last year remained in their homes. The agency also said it is in the process of rehousing 1,919 veterans who became homeless again after receiving housing.
The numbers mark a new record for the VA, which worked with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to get veterans off the street in an effort to eliminate veteran homelessness.
Veteran Homelessness Rate Continues To Increase
Despite the VA's efforts, the number of veterans who fell into homelessness continues to increase. On a single night in January 2023, at least 35,574 veterans were homeless. This was 7.4% higher than the same period in 2022 and marked the largest surge in veteran homelessness recorded in 12 years, per the New York Post, citing the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD's) annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Count Report. Unsheltered veterans represented 80% of the overall increase in homelessness recorded in 2023.
The reason for the increase in veteran homelessness is unknown. Denis McDonough, secretary of Veterans Affairs, told Military.com that it could be tied to the end of pandemic funding used by the state and local governments to provide housing to the homeless. He added that the VA is still looking for possible solutions to veteran homelessness.
"We just don't know for sure," McDonough said. "We think that a lot of [the pandemic] impact will have been accounted for in the numbers we saw last year. We'll hopefully get more data by the end of the summer."
The VA has yet to set a new housing goal for 2024, according to the report. However, the agency said they are ready to adjust if there is higher demand.
